Taking simplification of EU Funding to the next level - The university perspective

As the European Union prepares the next generation of EU funding programmes for the post-2020 period, budget discussions are increasingly geared towards performance, European added value, trust and efficiency. Simplification is a cornerstone in the debate as it is seen as a way to achieve these goals, lower entry barriers to programmes (thus improving participation throughout Europe), and overall to maximise the impact of EU funds.

Universities are directly interested in the discussions on simplifying the access to and management of projects in a wide range of EU funding programmes.

Universities cautiously assessed the potential for real simplification of the proposed measures for beneficiaries and consider that there is a need to re-focus on more effective simplification solutions. Simplification should be about achieving a coherent set of rules that is mindful of the diversity of actions and beneficiaries accommodated in a programme, and that ensures both high quality processes and an effective use of resources.